Although I wasn’t the biggest fan of their last album, it’s most definitely a shame to hear that LeftBack will mark the end of Little Brother. Like Q-Tip and Phife Dawg, Rapper Big Pooh and Phonte made amazing records based around their love of hip-hop. Dudes weren’t the greatest rappers of all time, but their appreciation and understanding of the culture meant that their music will be listened to for years to come.

Their demise also speaks to the sorry state of contemporary hip-hop. As a post on PrefixMag.com put it, “It’s sad to see bad timing, poor album sales, and record company mismanagement destroy a group as good as this. It made no sense why their considerable skills never translated into record sales and airplay. If anything, it’s an indictment of the style over substance attitude governing the hip hop mainstream for the last few years. Here’s hoping ‘Te and Pooh’s solo endeavors continue to shine as brightly as Little Brother’s brief but seminal catalog does.”